John Lennon’s Killer, Mark David Chapman, Denied Parole Again

For the 10th time, Mark David Chapman has been denied parole. He will continue serving his 20-years-to-life sentence at Wende Correctional Facility in Alden, N.Y., for the 1980 killing of John Lennon.

According to The New York Times, the parole board wrote in their decision that his release "would be incompatible with the welfare and safety of society and would so deprecate the serious nature of the crime as to undermine respect for the law."

"You admittedly carefully planned and executed the murder of a world-famous person for no reason other than to gain notoriety," they continued. "While no one person's life is any more valuable than another's life, the fact that you chose someone who was not only a world renown person and beloved by millions, regardless of the pain and suffering you would cause to his family, friends and so many others, you demonstrated a callous disregard for the sanctity of human life and the pain and suffering of others."

They added that releasing the 63-year-old Chapman would not only suggest that his crime was less serious than it was, but also acknowledged that his own safety was at risk, because someone could potentially seek to harm him.

Chapman has been eligible for parole every two years since 2000. He can apply again in 2020.

Earlier this month, Chapman's wife, Gloria Hiroko Chapman, said that he had flown to New York two months earlier with the intention of killing Lennon in the hopes that he would "make a name for himself." He told her that only his love for her prevented it, and that he had thrown his gun into the ocean. But then, when she heard the news while watching television, she knew it was her husband who killed him.

"My life changed dramatically that night. I was now Mrs. Mark David Chapman, the wife of a murderer and not just any murderer but one whose victim was known and loved by millions around the world.”